High Flight

This is my favorite poem. It was written by John Magee, an American who joined the Canadian Air Force during the Battle of Britain, because the United States hadn't joined in the fighting. He was inspired to write this poem as he was flying his Spitfire over England at 30,000 feet, and once he landed he finished it and sent it in a letter to his parents. He died in 1941, at age 19, only a few months after writing this.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds,

And done a hundred things you have not dreamed of -

Wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.

Hovering there, I've chased the shouting wind along,

And flung my eager craft through the footless halls of air.

Up, up the long delirious burning blue

I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or ever eagle flew.

And while with silent lifting mind

I've trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand,

And touched the face of God.

Lost And Found

Have you ever searched for something for a really long time, and when you finally found it, you wanted to jump up and down and scream and dance around the room? I have.

For example, you're in a rush to go somewhere and realize you can't find your keys. It can make you late for a meeting, work, church, anything. And you can't do anything about it except keep looking and praying. And that's what makes the difference. I've seen someone search for their keys for 20 minutes and not find them. Then they decide to ask God to help them find these missing keys, and next thing you know, they're right there in plain sight.

Thinking about this reminded me of the parable of the lost coin:

Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin." (Luke 15:8-9)

After that, Jesus says:

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10)

Wait a minute. God sees us like the woman saw her coins? YES! He is longing for us, and when we turn (or return) to Him, He is so so happy! Amazing, right? God is excited about you!

Here are two more parables to further demonstrate how much God loves us and wants us to find Him.

The parable of the lost sheep:

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep." I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:4-7)

The parable of the lost son:

There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, "Father, give me my share of the estate." So he divided his property between them.

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything , there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

When he came to his senses, he said, "How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men." So he got up and went to his father.

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

The son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son."

But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." So they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:11-24)

Also, if you have the chance, listen to the song The Lost Get Found by Britt Nicole. It's really catchy, and it talks about the same thing I've been writing about.

I hope that if you've lost anything, or if you're feeling lost, you'll pray about it, and you'll find whatever it is you were looking for!